Dacorum & Tring starlets shine bright in Bedford

Three Dacorum & Tring athletes were invited to compete in the England Athletics U17 and U15 Championships held on the weekend at Bedford International Stadium.

Sprint star Chenna Okoh, coached by Gavin Town, qualified to compete in the U17 men’s 400m while Michael Fryer and Jessica O’Sullivan, both coached by Andy Jackson, made the cut to compete in the U17 men’s and women’s pole vault, respectively.

Michael Fryer, Dacorum & Tring AC. Picture (c) Gary Mitchell

On the first day of championship action, Chenna finished second in the fourth of four heats in a time of 50.57s, which automatically qualified him for the semi-finals. He then went on to finish fourth in the semi-finals, missing out on qualification for the final by only 0.06 of a second.

Chenna was the youngest of the fastest nine in the semis – and four of the boys ahead of him will move on to U20 in 2016, so he has a great chance to make his mark next year.

Chenna’s PB of 49.49, achieved at the Southern Counties U17 Inter County Match, puts him 10th overall in the Power of 10 UK rankings for U17 men – in just his first year in the category.

Michael was competing in the U17 men’s pole vault, and finished ninth overall with a leap of 3.66m – also a fantastic result in just his first year in the two-year age group.

His PB of 3.90, achieved at the EYAL match in Watford in May, ranks him joint 11th in the country.

Jessica, meanwhile, finished 11th in the U17 women’s pole vault with her leap of 2.96m, clearing the same height as the competitors in eighth and joint-ninth position. Jessica is currently ranked joint-24th in the UK in her age category, thanks to her PB of 3.10, secured at the SAL match at Woodford in April.